Bill Hemmer: Detainees 'scared to death'

CNN's Bill Hemmer reports from Kandahar on Saturday.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CNN) --There is no evidence the United States is planning to leave anytime soon the Kandahar airport, now occupied by Marines. In fact, Marines are preparing to be replaced by the U.S. Army as more al Qaeda detainees are brought into the prison facility there.

CNN Correspondent Bill Hemmer offered some insights in a report he filed on Saturday.

BILL HEMMER: Another round of detainees were brought in early Friday morning, here to the airport in Kandahar. Twenty-five in the latest round, bringing the total now to 62.

Agents on the ground working the case say some are willing to talk, but all are "scared to death," in the words of one agent. Also, when asked if there's progress or any sort of cooperation, we're told that the ultimate question -- the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden -- still has not been answered.

On another front, the airport here continues to be built up for the U.S. military. Last night (Friday), Thursday night and Friday morning, 26 different planes landed here, bringing more supplies for the U.S. military operation.

We do anticipate, sometime in mid-January, the U.S. Marines will leave here and turn over jurisdiction for this airport to the U.S. Army and portions of the U.S. Air Force. That continues on a daily basis.

In addition to that, some time in the month of January, it is also expected that more humanitarian aid will be brought in here and eventually peacekeepers may show up as well.